The Pirates are home for six against the Reds and Cardinals. Cincinnati (the defending division champion) is 3 games behind the Bucs, and St. Louis is tied with the Bucs for second. It’s as meaningful a homestand as you’ll see in a division race. PNC Park had better be rocking all week…this is the first time anything close to his has ever happened there in July.

This also starts a much tougher stretch for the Bucs. They did just fine in their run against bad teams, winning all the series, but they’re still going to have to play well against these tough opponents to hang around. The Reds might be the easiest of the group (plus the Bucs are 5-1 against them this year), but you can’t sleep on them one bit.